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Reviewer:tapedatshow -
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January 30, 2012 Subject:
Excellent 1st Night of 3, Very Good Sound
It's hard to compare the 3 nights at the Metro against each other. These shows were an event for the band, highlighting the success that they had finally achieved. All three shows featured an intro from a local Chicago radio personality, and all three were video recorded (pro and/or amateur). All three shows are great, and feature great audience sources (as well as the video soundtrack and FM & soundboard sources for the final night).
This opening show is a stark contrast to the previous show at the Metro from July, where the band were billed as "The Turnips". Whereas the Turnips show featured the band getting used to the new songs and dealing with the rustiness of having been off the road so long, this first show back at the venue in August features the band playing at an entirely different energy level, and the songs in the set now have a spark to them. No doubt, the short tour that the band did between that first "secret" Metro show and these three proper homecoming gigs allowed them to sufficiently warm up to the new songs. When paired with the energy of this gig, it makes for a flawless performance.
The setlist on this first night flows perfectly from start to finish, and is one of the most satisfying sets of the entire Siamese Dream tour. By the next night, the set will be re-ordered and drawn out a little more, and by the third night they would extend the set further and add the cello to some of the songs. This first night is a much more balanced presentation, with no dips in the energy at any point in the evening. There are lots of great moments, including the new songs (Silverfuck starts with a bang, and features an extra ad-libbed "Everyone's a Liar" portion) the old songs (Siva is potentially a best-ever version), and even the really old songs (check out the Not Worth Asking tease before Hummer). The band's tightness and Billy's vocals are a highlight throughout. Billy and James start the show with some screams, and Billy spares no expense inserting prolonged "Yeahs!" and various howls and screams into the verses of the songs. Whereas the previous show as the Turnips featured the band happy to be back onstage, while displaying some self-consciousness in playing to their hometown crowd, this second time around shows them fully relaxed onstage and ready and prepared to deliver. By the third night, Billy will have worn himself out a little, and the band will have mellowed a bit, and while the songs will still be performed excellently, there won't be quite the same excitement and energy rush of this first show.
As for some funny moments at this show, listen during the interlude in Starla, where Billy responds to a heckler in the audience with a suggestion, and the crowd roars in approval. Billy and James also continue the Paul STanley joke that they had started at the Pontiac show a few days earlier. This time, James mentions that they had written Disarm with the KISS frontman. This show happens to feature a slightly shorter setlist than the other two gigs (14 songs played the first night, 16 the second night, and 17 the third night), but that may have been as simple as the band being conscious of measuring out their energy over the three nights. Or it could've been as simple as leaving the audience wanting more. Based on the performance on this first night, one could imagine that they easily could've stayed on stage another hour. Highly recommended and underrated show, often overshadowed by the more widely familiar (and now officially released) third night.
Notes
This is a speed-corrected version uploaded to archive.org 2012/01/30
Music slowed down -1.75% in Audacity. All SBEs fixed in Trader's Little Helper.
*MD5 checksum and a photo of Billy from the show included
![[item image]](http://ia700807.us.archive.org/33/items/tsp1993-08-12.SPC/Billy-Metro1stNight_thumb.jpg?cnt=0 "[item image]")
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